Plant photography for kids

Plants are everywhere, particularly during spring and summer, and they often change in appearance from season to season. You can find many kinds of colorful flowers, giant trees, reeds growing in a lake, and vines climbing their way up a stone wall. The possibilities for great plant photography are nearly endless.

Apart from your garden or the local park, you can also find strange and unusual plants in botanical gardens, at the zoo, or if you are out camping.

So here are some easy plant photography tips:

Get in close. The best plant photos are full of detail. How close you can get while still taking a good picture will depend on your camera. Most cameras these days will have a macro setting or macro focus; if your camera has one, use it. Macro photography is just a fancy word that means taking photos of small things close up. The macro focus will let your camera focus in on things that are very close to the lens.

Do not use the flash. This will usually ruin the image, often making it blurry.

Hold the camera stable! Whenever you take pictures of things close up you run the risk of shaking the camera. If you have a tripod, use it.

Watch the light. You do not want your photo to be too dark but you also do not want bright direct sunlight. If you are taking pictures outdoors, try photographing in the early morning or a few hours before sunset.

If the plants are still covered in morning dew the picture will look even better. If not, you could always sprinkle some water on them to improve your picture.